Tuesday, August 31, 2010

1. take some time walking around campus and/or its immediate surroundings. find a place (or places) that has meaning for you - somewhere you find beautiful or miserable, inspiring or daunting, a place that makes your mind soar or makes your heart go boom boom boom. or just find a place you think is cool.

2. take some photographs of this place (or places). before you snap a picture, put some thought into what you are trying to capture. take as many photographs as you want.

3. if you do not already have a flickr account, create one. if you have an interest in photography, seriously consider opening a pro account ($25/year). if not, sign up for a free account.

4. upload 3-5 of your favorite campus photographs from your camera or phone to flickr. make sure you title each photograph.

5. put your photographs into a flickr set. be sure to title your flickr set.

6. once finished - and no later than 9 am on friday, september 3rd - tweet about it. include a link to your flickr set so that your classmates and people who follow you on twitter can see your work.

7. in class on friday, be prepared to demo your work.

rules:

1. follow all directions.

2. give yourself some time with this assignment. flickr is not overly difficult but it's not overly simple.

3. keep in mind that the goal of this assignment is not to take the greatest photograph ever of USF or san francisco - you have a whole semester to accomplish that! instead, the goal of this assignment to get you up and running on flickr.

4. if you have not completed the assignment by friday, do not come to class.

Digital Media Production is a production course designed around creating, sharing, and collaborating with social media. Using tools and platforms like twitter, flickr, blogs, iPad, kiva, Creative Commons, youtube, yelp, USFPool, and Wikileaks, students will explore participatory media, digital storytelling, transmedia, co-authorship, user-generated content, and collective intelligence. Readings and discussions about digital media culture will accompany and inform our production and participation.

Learning Goals:1. To learn how to use digital media creatively and effectively;2. To learn how to use digital media collectively and collaboratively; and3. To learn how to learn new digital media tools quickly and independently.

Course Texts/Costs:o All readings are either free and online or free via Gleeson Library.o Although you will be able to complete your assignments with a free flickr account, you are encouraged to purchase a flickr pro account for $25.o In early October, we will be field tripping to see The Social Network in a local theater which will cost approximately $10.o All students are required to make at least one $25 micro-loan, via kiva.org, which will be returned in full.

Calendar:Week 1:Wed, August 25o Introduce ourselves, the course, and course expectations.Fri, August 27o Read/Watch: Clive Thompson, Brave New World of Digital Intimacy, New York Times Magazine, September 5, 2008; and Ira Glass, On good taste … (Video: 5:20), This American Life, August 12, 2006.

Week 5:Mon, September 20o Prior to class, watch The Matrix (1999) and be ready to discuss it.Wed, September 22o Read: Henry Jenkins, "Searching for the Oragami Unicorn: The Matrix and Transmedia Storytelling," in Convergence Culture (2006), pp. 95-134.Fri, September 24o Read/Watch at least one other piece of Matrix-related transmedia (including but not limited to Matrix Reloaded, Matrix Revolutions, the web comics, the anime, the computer game, or the massively multiplayer online game) and be ready to share your understanding of it in class.o Project 1 due.

Week 6:Mon, September 27o Student-generated readings on Creative Commons, part 1.Wed, September 29o Student-generated readings on Creative Commons, part 2.Fri, October 1o Demo Day

Week 8:Mon, October 11o No class: Fall BreakWed, October 13o Watch: Michael Wesch, An anthropological introduction to YouTube (Video: 55.33), presented at the Library of Congress, June 23, 2008.Fri, October 15o Demo Day

Week 11:Mon, November 1o Student-generated readings on music and social media, part 1.Wed, November 3o Student-generated readings on music and social media, part 2.Fri, November 5o Guest lecture: Bennett Grassano, Director of Development, Kiva.org. Readings TBA.

Course Rules:1. No late work accepted.2. If you have no new work on Demo Day, do not come to class.3. Whenever possible, publish your work under your own name.4. Starting Friday, August 27, no drinking out of non-reusable containers in class. Be creative with your thirst-quenching solutions.

Course Description:Community Garden Outreach introduces students to environmental, cultural, social, political, and philosophical issues that circulate through and around food production, preparation, preservation, and distribution. Through readings, films, and class discussions, students will learn about sustainable and unsustainable systems of food production. Through field trips, homestead workshops, and an on-campus farmstand, students will engaged directly with various food production, preparation, preservation, and distribution practices. This service learning course is offered in tandem with Justin Valone’s Urban Ag I and both are part of USF’s Garden Project living learning community.

Course Calendar:August 25: In class we will introduce ourselves, the course, and course expectations. At the end of class, we will field trip to the Upper Haight Farmers Market. Your homework, in addition to your weekly reflection, is to visit the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on either Thursday, August 26 or Saturday, August 28.

September 1: Discussion about farmers markets and our farmstand. Class guests will include a few past Garden Project students who will share their experiences with running farmstand. Class will also include a visit from Sarah Klein, who will help us assess our kitchen and garden. Keep in mind: On Thursday, September 2, we will have our 1st campus farmstand!

September 8: Prior to class, read Mollie Katzen's "Useful Tools," from The New Moosewood Cookbook, pp. xvi- xvii; and Joan Dye Gussow, “Is It Worth It?” from This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader, pp. 200-214. Full kitchen/cooking day with Sarah Klein. At the end of class, be ready to commit to particular tasks for this semester's farmstand.

September 15: Prior to class, watch Food, Inc., which we will discuss in class. We will end class with a discussion and early assessment of our farmstand.

September 22: Prior to class, read Michael Pollan’s “Introduction” & “Two Gardens,” pp. 1-34, which we will discuss in class.

October 13:We will not have our regular Wednesday class this week in preparation for our field trip to Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC), on Friday and Saturday, October 15-16.

October 20:Prior to class, read Kim Severson's “Neighbor, Can You Spare A Plum?” New York Times, June 10, 2009; Fallen Fruit, “Take Back the Fruit: Public Space and Community Activism,” from Food, edited by John Knechtel, pp. 94-103; Roxanne Webber's 10 Ways to Barter for Food, Chow, August 6, 2009; and Pollan’s “The Harvest,” pp. 137-149. Homestead workshop: Green Media.

Please note: Students enrolled in 2 units will be expected to work at least 2 hours a week towards our campus farmstand; students enrolled in 4 units will be expected to work at least 4 hours a week towards our campus farmstand.

Course Rules:1. Starting September 1, no drinking out of non-reusable containers in class and during farmstand. Be creative with your thirst-quenching solutions.2. In class, on field trips, and during farmstand, try your best to listen to and learn from everyone.3. No late work accepted.

i am an associate professor of environmental studies and urban ag at the university of san francisco. i live in oakland with sarah and our daughter siena. contact me via the email address listed on this page.